


Because I Met You

by Hiroakki



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2019-02-22 20:17:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 18,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13174425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hiroakki/pseuds/Hiroakki
Summary: Kiu, a girl who has lost all her memory, ends up in the Sand Village where she is taken in by Mari's family. Mari becomes her best friend until Kiu starts asking her questions about the strange red-headed boy who always sits alone at the playground they go to everyday. One day, Kiu finally decides to approach him. Follows the main story!





	1. The Red-Haired Boy

He's always sitting there, alone, by himself. I wonder why everyone is so afraid of him… He doesn't seem dangerous. I should ask Mari about that. She's my best friend after all. Well… only since like a week ago, since that's when her family found me outside, unconscious, with no memories of my past. Since then, she's been taking me along with her to the playground every day. The strange thing was that he was also always there. That boy with blood red hair, holding a teddy bear, sitting alone on the swing… I always want to approach him, but each time I try, Mari would just pull me away without telling me why. Today, we are playing with her other friends with a ball. She's pretty popular among the kids in this village.

"Hey, Mari…"

I want to know more about that red-haired boy…

"What is it, Kiu?"

She answers me cheerfully.

"Um… Well… I was always wondering why the boy over there is always alone…"

I point at the boy while asking her the question that's been on my mind. She immediately pulls my hand away.

"Are you crazy? Do you want him to kill us?"

She whispers frantically while pulling me further away from him. Kill us? Is that boy really able to do that? Why would he?

"Who is he?"

I'm still curious, you know.

"He's Gaara… The demon child…"

Demon child? He seems pretty innocent to me. I just think people are way too afraid of him for no apparently good reason.

"He doesn't seem that scary."

"You're not from here! You wouldn't understand!"

Mari is getting angry at me… I guess I should just drop the subject.

"Oh no! The ball!"

One of Mari's friends screams as the ball rolls to where Gaara is sitting.

"What do we do now…?"

Mari looks terrified. She lets go of me and backs away even further from where Gaara is. He then picks up the ball and tries to give it back to us. That's my chance to approach him! I'm pretty sure none of the others will anyway. I run towards him to go take the ball.

"Kiu!"

Mari tries to stop me, but I'm already way too far ahead. Besides, she doesn't dare get any closer. Gaara looks at me and hesitantly hands me the ball. I take it from him and give him a cheerful smile.

"Thank you, Gaara!"

He looks really surprised. He smiles back after a bit though. I don't get how people are afraid of such a sweet looking little boy.

"Do you want to come play with us?"

I ask him. I want to get to know him better. Besides, he could make some friends if he approaches other people. I hear Mari's friends whispering around me.

"Is she crazy…?"

"He's going to kill her…!"

"She's an outsider, she doesn't know anything…"

"She's probably just as dangerous as he is…"

Gaara looks at me.

"I think… your friends won't be happy if I play with them."

He says with a sad face. Well if they won't play with him, I will. I turn around and throw the ball at them. Mari catches it and looks at me with a frightened face. I turn back to face Gaara.

"Then, let's just play together, you and me. Who needs them, anyway?"

"You… want to play with me?"

I nod and smile at him. He smiles back. I hear all the kids going away. Did Mari leave too? It doesn't matter. I'll just tell her how nice Gaara really is and we'll all be friends after that!

"So, Gaara, do you usually just sit around on that swing?"

"Yeah…"

"You know, I don't remember ever sitting on a swing before."

"Never?"

"Maybe I did, but I don't remember anything from my past."

"Where are your parents?"

"Parents? I don't know if I have any."

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologize; it doesn't really matter, since I don't remember a thing. Oh, by the way, I'm Kiu."

I extend my hand towards him, waiting for a handshake. He looks at it in confusion. Doesn't he know what a handshake is? I've seen Mari's parents do it when someone came to visit. Mari also did it when she first introduced herself to me. He's still looking at my hand. I should help him out. I reach for his hand and take it in mine. I shake it while grinning.

"That's how you shake hands, Gaara."

He looks so surprised. I wonder if he can help me out in riding a swing. He seems like he's an expert at it. I let go of his hand.

"Hey, Gaara…"

"What is it?"

"Can you… teach me how to ride a swing? It seems like it's fun, but I don't know how to do it."

"You can sit on it and I'll push you… if you want."

"You will? Thanks a bunch!"

I run to the swing and sit on it. Gaara rushes to my side and starts pushing the swing gently. Soon after, he pushes it harder and I start laughing in joy. This is so much fun! After a while, he stops. I get off the swing and give him a hug.

"That was so fun! Thanks, Gaara!"

"N… No problem…"

I pull away from him.

"Gaara… Can we be… friends?"

He looks surprised again. It's like a day full of surprises for him.

"Friends? With me?"

"Who else, you dummy?"

I grin at him and he smiles the brightest smile I've ever seen in my life. It's even brighter than the one Mari had when one of the guys asked her to be his girlfriend. I think she's way too young for this, but really… Who am I to tell her that?

"So? Are we friends?"

"Of course!"

He answers cheerfully. Great! I'm friends with Gaara! I have a feeling we're going to be really good friends.

"It's getting really late. I should get back home before Mari's parents freak out."

That's what they usually do when Mari's late.

"Oh…"

Gaara looks down.

"Do want to walk me home? It's not that far."

Gaara immediately looks up and smiles. He nods and walks up to me. I take his hand and we head towards Mari's house.


	2. No Home

"Here we are!"

I point at Mari's house as we get closer to the door. I hear voices from inside. It's Mari and her parents.

"Mom, dad! We can't let her in our house anymore!"

"I know sweetie, I tried to convince your mother before that taking in a homeless girl would cause trouble eventually."

"I never thought she'd approach the demon child!"

"We're not responsible for her anymore. She might be even more dangerous. We don't know anything about who she is!"

It goes on like that for I don't know how long. Gaara's hand tightens around mine and I look at the ground. It doesn't seem like I'm welcome in that house anymore. I don't think Mari will want to be my friend anymore either. All this because I wanted to be Gaara's friend? Well… That won't stop me from being his friend.

"Kiu?"

I look up at Gaara who has a concerned look on his face. How can I just abandon him anyway? He's so worried, instead of being angry at them for doing this because of him.

"On second thought, I don't think I'll go home today."

I turn around and drag Gaara away from Mari's house.

"Kiu…"

After running for a bit, I finally stop. I look at Gaara and I feel tears welling up in my eyes.

"Even if they do that…"

My voice is all shaky. I can't control the tears rolling down my cheeks.

"Even if they do that, I'll still be your friend, Gaara. I'll never leave you! Ever!"

I start sobbing out loud. How could they be so unfair to Gaara? I just don't understand! They're all just trying to do all these mean things so that he never gets to have any friends. I'm going to change that! I bring my hands up to try to dry up my tears. I feel a pair of small arms wrap around my shoulders and pull me close. I take my hands away from my face to find Gaara hugging me. I wrap my arms around him and cry even harder. I also hear him sniffling a little. We stay like this for a while until we both calm down. We finally pull away and wipe away our tears.

"I'm sorry…"

Gaara apologizes. For what? He never did anything wrong!

"It's not your fault, Gaara. It never was."

"Kiu, thank you… For everything. You're the first person who ever wanted to be my friend… And now this happens…"

"It's alright, Gaara. I told you, it's not your fault. I'm sure things will work out. Besides, they weren't my family to begin with. I knew I wouldn't be able to stay with them for long."

"You know, you can come to my place, if you want."

"You sure? Your parents won't mind?"

Gaara looks down.

"My dad… doesn't care about me."

Doesn't care about him? What does he mean by that? Does his dad treat him like everyone else does? He looks so sad about it, I shouldn't press the subject for now…

"Well, what about your mom?"

I'm sure she's not like that, right?

"I don't have a mom…"

"Oh… I'm sorry, Gaara…"

"It's okay; uncle Yashamaru takes good care of me. I'm sure he won't mind if you come over."

That's a relief. He has someone that cares about him. Besides me, of course…

"Lead the way, then!"

This time, Gaara's the one who takes my hand and brings me to where he lives. We head towards what I believe to be the Kazekage's mansion. I haven't been in this village for long so I don't even know who the Kazekage is supposed to be. All I know is that he's important and apparently rich.

"Isn't that the Kazekage's mansion?"

"Yeah. He's my father, you didn't know?"

"I've only been in this village for a week. I barely know anything about anything. All I know is that the Kazekage is some important person in the village. What is a Kazekage anyway?"

Gaara chuckles.

"A Kazekage is like the leader of the village. He's supposedly the most powerful ninja in the village."

"And you're his son? Shouldn't a leader who's responsible for a whole bunch of people be more caring towards his own son?"

Gaara shrugs. I guess there isn't really an answer for that. Or if there is, it's not something that simple to discuss. We finally arrive at the mansion and Gaara takes me inside. He drags me up the stairs. There are so many rooms in this place. Gaara finally stops in front of one of the rooms and opens the door. We both go in before he closes the door behind him. There are so many toys in this room!

"Gaara, is this your room?"

He nods. I've never seen so many toys in one place! This is awesome!

"Are all of these yours?"

"They are."

He doesn't really seem happy about the toys.

"You don't like them?"

"It's not that… I just don't like the person who got them for me."

"But… if that person got you all these toys, doesn't that mean that they care about you?"

"No… Not when they get me all these toys to keep me busy because they're too afraid I'd go on a rampage."

"Oh… well if you put it that way… Who needs those toys anyway? If the person who got them isn't worth it, then those toys aren't either!"

Gaara smiles at me and both of us start putting all the evil toys away. Those toys got what they deserved! We both lie down on Gaara's bed, exhausted from all the cleaning.

"You don't need those toys anymore, Gaara. Having me as your friend will keep away all that boredom!"

Gaara giggles.

"I bet."

"Who got you those toys, anyway?"

"…My father."

"Well that'll teach him not to do that sort of thing again."

Gaara looks at me and gives me a sincere smile.

"Thank you, Kiu."


	3. I'll Never Leave You

Someone knocks on Gaara's door. We both get up from his bed and look at each other.

"Who do you think it is?"

I ask Gaara. Gaara shrugs and goes to open the door. A very kind looking man comes in. Is that his dad? I don't think so… He looks too nice to be his dad.

"Yashamaru!"

Oh, so that's Yashamaru.

"How have you been, Gaara? And who do we have here?"

I rush to Gaara's side and hide behind him a little. What? I get a little shy around strangers who are older than me!

"This is Kiu, my friend. She's going to be staying here with us."

Gaara seems much more cheerful around that man. He does seem like a really nice guy.

"Are her parents aware of that?"

Yashamaru crouches a little to be at Gaara's and my eye-level.

"I don't think I have any."

Yashamaru looks at me with a little surprise. I try to hide even more behind Gaara.

"She doesn't have any memories from her past."

"That's unfortunate… Well, you can stay here as long as you like. I'm sure Gaara will be happy with some company."

"Thank you…"

Even if I'm shy, I don't forget to be polite. I'm excited about this. It's like an infinite sleepover! Well, until I find my own place.

"Well, I'll leave you two together then, since I have a mission I need to attend to. Gaara, why don't you show Kiu around?"

"I'll show her the roof! It's where we can see the entire village!"

"Perfect! Have fun, you two."

He then leaves us alone. The roof? That sounds like fun! I finally get out from behind Gaara and stand next to him. He looks at me.

"Why were you hiding behind me?"

"…I'm a little shy sometimes! Deal with it!"

"You don't seem shy with me."

"You're different…"

You're my age!

"Anyway, you talked about showing me the roof. Do you hang out there a lot?"

"Well, I spend most of my nights up there."

"Wait, you sleep on the roof?"

"I don't sleep…"

"At all?"

"Very rarely…"

"Why? How?"

"Well, you can say that there's this monster inside of me. It keeps me from sleeping. It's because of that monster that everybody's afraid of me…"

He looks down. He clenches his fists. A monster? So that's why everyone is acting all scared around him.

"Kiu, you didn't know?"

I shake my head.

"Are you… going to be scared of me too?"

He looks at me with a sad face.

"Well I'm not running, am I? So no, I won't be scared of you. You're my friend. Now show me that roof! From now on, you won't be spending your nights there alone, because I'll be there!"

Gaara instantly smiles after hearing that. He should smile like that all the time. I'll make sure he does!

Gaara takes my hand and takes me to where the roof is. We both stand close to the edge.

"Wow…"

"You like it?"

"This is awesome! You can see almost everything from up here!"

The houses in the village look like the doll houses that Mari and I used to play with. Gaara sits down on the edge, dangling his feet in the air. I do the same. I sit next to him on his left and playfully push his left leg with my right leg. He does the same and we both start giggling while having a mini feet war. I feel a cold breeze blow. Man, it's cold in the desert…

"Gaara, I'm cold."

Gaara moves closer to me until our sides are glued together.

"Better?"

His body heat is keeping me a little warmer.

"Definitely."

Just then, I hear something piercing through the air and getting closer to us. Before I could turn around, I hear the rustling of sand. Gaara seems alarmed. I look behind us and all I see is sand. Once it starts falling, I notice… Kunai knives? It seems like the sand stopped them from getting to us. Gaara gets up. He's looking at a man who's standing in the shadows, ready to throw more kunai knives at us. He's using some kind of weird magic trick to keep them floating in the air without touching them. Is that what people call jutsu? Gaara looks angry… and scared.

"Why… Why me…? Why is it always me?"

"Gaara…"

I get up and stand behind him. The man throws more kunai knives at us, but sand stops it again. Why is the sand doing that? Gaara then lifts his arm and… the sand moves along! So it's Gaara that's been controlling it! The sand then goes and wraps itself around the man in the shadows and… squashes him! The sound is sickening! The man is then dropped on the ground. Is he dead…? Gaara goes closer to the man. I follow closely behind. He takes off the man's mask and… it's… Gaara's uncle? Why? Why would he do that?

"Yashamaru…"

Gaara sounds like he's about to cry. I feel like I'm about to cry too… How could Yashamaru do something like this?

"Yashamaru… why? Why were you trying to kill me?"

"It was an order… By your father."

Blood is seeping out of every orifice of his body.

"Father? Why… would he want me dead…?"

Gaara… It feels like he's going to break down any second. I put my hand on his shoulder. He looks at me. He's… crying. I feel my own tears falling down my cheeks. His own father… How could a father ever order someone to assassinate his own son?

"You were born… to be possessed by the Sand Shukaku… Until today, you have been watched over as an experimental subject… However, you are yet unable to control the powers of the living spirit Shukaku… Before long, your existence will become too dangerous to the village itself… We simply couldn't let that happen…"

"Then… then you had no choice… It was because of father…"

Gaara looks back at Yashamaru.

"No… You're mistaken…"

What…?

"Yes, I did receive Kazekage-sama's orders… but… I would've declined if I wanted to…"

But he didn't decline… Does that means…?

"Gaara… Deep down inside… I must've always… resented you for coming into this world, stealing life away from my beloved sister…"

Gaara lets out a hiccup. This is way too painful for him! How could anyone be so cruel!

"I tried my best to love you by thinking of you as her memento… but I couldn't…"

"Stop it!"

I can't take this anymore!

"Can't you see that you're making Gaara suffer? He never asked for any of this!"

Both of them look at me.

"Kiu…"

"You're a foolish little girl… Soon, you'll leave him too… When you notice how dangerous he is…"

"I'm not like you…"

"Nobody ever loved him and nobody ever will. Now… please die…"

Yashamaru opens his vest to reveal a bunch of papers. Before I could realize what they were, a big explosion occurs and the shockwaves send me flying to the edge of the roof. I think I hit my head… My ears are ringing from the sound of the explosion. I close my eyes to try to stabilize my breathing.

After a bit, the ringing in my ears starts to disappear and I hear… crying. Gaara's crying… I get up, feeling a bit dizzy, and get closer to Yashamaru's unrecognizable body. The smell is horrible. A terrible headache starts pounding in my skull and I feel as if something has entered me. My head…! What is this? I get away from Yashamaru's dead body and the headache instantly leaves me. Did I get the headache because of the dead body? Wait… Somehow… I know how to use that technique he used to keep the kunai knives floating in the air. How's that possible? I never learned any jutsu before. I barely even know what a jutsu is! It doesn't matter right now; there are more important things right now.

I see Gaara kneeling on the floor, his head hanging low. I go to where he is and notice blood coming down from his forehead. I crouch down in front of him and look closely at what's causing the bleeding. It looks like a kanji. Ai… Love. Gaara needs it the most right now.

"Gaara…"

"Get away from me!"

He pushes me and looks away. I get closer and hug him. I start crying too.

"And where would I go if I left…? You're the only person I have in this world… Don't push me away, Gaara… Please…"

Gaara sobs harder and buries his face in my clothes.

"What Yashamaru said… He's wrong… As long as I'm alive, I'll never leave you. I'll always love you Gaara…"

"Kiu… I'm sorry… I don't want you to go away…"

We stay like this until we both calm down and then we pull away.

"Haha… My clothes are soaked because of all the crying. Yours are too."

"Yeah… Kiu, you're bleeding!"

"I am? You are too…"

"Yeah, but you it's your head. I did it to myself, you didn't."

"It must've happened when I hit it from the explosion… Let's go inside and take care of all of this."

I take Gaara's hand and we both go inside. I'm still a little confused about what happened when I was close to Yashamaru's body. Can I really do that flying kunai technique? I'll have to talk to Gaara about it. He probably knows more about jutsu than I do.


	4. Gaara's Siblings

Since I have no clothes of my own, Gaara gives me some of his to change into. We both go get cleaned up and, somehow, I know how to bandage up my head and his forehead, even though it's the first time I do it. It's like… I know how.

"Akia, you're really good at it. Almost as good as… Yashamaru…"

"Yashamaru?"

So that's it… I must've absorbed that knowledge from him too. Is that how people learn jutsu? That's weird.

"Hey Gaara, how do you learn jutsu?"

"Jutsu? Well… It takes training, mostly. Other ways is when you have a Kekkei Genkai."

"A Kekkei Genkai? I feel like I've heard of it before…"

"A Kekkei Genkai is an inherited skill, a bloodline limit."

"Is your control over sand a Kekkei Genkai?"

"Not really… I have that control because of the Shukaku."

"…Is it normal for someone to learn jutsu by absorbing it from a dead body?"

"What…? I've never heard of something like that before. Why do you ask?"

"I think… that's what happened to me when… I got closer to Yashamaru's dead body…"

Even though I still didn't try the flying kunai technique, I just feel like I know how. I also know how to treat wounds almost at professional level when it's my first time ever treating it.

"Do you think that maybe it's your clan's Kekkei Genkai?"

"Yeah, maybe…"

It could be my clan's Kekkei Genkai. I don't really remember anything about them, so… It is a possibility. Does that mean if I'm close to a really strong ninja's dead body, then I'll become a really strong ninja too? That would be awesome! But then again, I don't like seeing people die…

"Kiu… I have a feeling that a lot of assassination attempts are going to come my way… It'll be dangerous for you to stay with me…"

"What are you trying to say? You want me to leave?"

"…It'd be safer for you."

"No it won't. You're the only person I have in this world… I only trust you… Besides, if anything happens, I know you'll protect me, right?"

"Of course! I'll do anything to keep you safe!"

"I know you will."

"You know, it's getting late. You should go to sleep. You can have my bed."

"You don't want to try to sleep too?"

"It's better if I don't…"

"At least sit next to me on the bed. I… don't want to be alone after all that's happened tonight."

Gaara pats my head and smiles.

"Alright, I won't leave you alone."

Good! I'm really scared after all that's happened. I mean, I saw a man die in front of me after trying to assassinate my best friend! I'm just happy that that friend is safe and sound… and that he's smiling again. I get up on Gaara's bed and he lies down next to me.

"I thought you said you weren't going to sleep."

"Lying down doesn't mean that I'll sleep."

"You got a point there."

We're both lying on our sides, facing each other. We take each other's hands into our own, finding safety and comfort in each other. I feel my eyelids becoming heavy. After a while, I finally end up falling asleep.

I open my eyes… My head feels groggy from hitting it last night… Where am I again? Oh, yeah… Gaara's room… Gaara… I look around. Where's Gaara? Gaara? Did something happen to him while I was asleep? No way! Gaara! I feel my panic rising. I have to find him!

I run towards his room's door and rush outside. I bump into something or someone and fall on my butt.

"Ow…"

"Who are you?"

I look up and see a boy that looks older than both Gaara and me. He has similar hair to Gaara but his is brown.

"I… I'm… sorry… I…"

I'm being shy again… I need to go find Gaara, but I don't know how to tell this guy. I don't even know who he is! And he asked me about who I was… Should I tell him? I should… I mean he probably lives here, right? Or maybe… he's the one who took Gaara away! No… Gaara is probably much stronger than him…

"Hey! I asked you who you were, don't just space out like that!"

He flicks my forehead.

"Ow! That hurts!"

"What's going on here?"

A girl voice?

"Temari, there's a little brat here who came out from Gaara's bedroom and she won't say who she is."

The one he called Temari approaches us and looks at me, surprised to find me there probably… I feel tears welling up in my eyes. From the pain in my forehead, to the embarrassment of being in front of two strangers, and… to the fact that Gaara's not here. I then see a hand extend in front of me. I look up and realize that it's Temari's.

"Come on, get up."

I take her hand and she helps me get up.

"Wait, is she wearing Gaara's clothes?"

The guy comments while pointing at me.

"I… I didn't have any… clothes to change… so he gave me some…"

"Change? Why?"

Temari asks me while dusting off some dust that stuck to me from falling down.

"The real question should be how? I mean Gaara? Lending clothes to someone? Since when did he ever get that close to anybody without killing them?"

"Gaara's not like that!"

They both look at me, surprised that I actually had an audible voice. That guy made me angry! How could he talk like that about Gaara? I look down before continuing what I have to say.

"Gaara is… a very nice person…"

"Are we talking about the same person…?"

"Shut it, Kankuro."

Temari punches Kankuro in the back of his head. That must hurt…

"So, are you Gaara's friend?"

She asks me after looking back at me.

"Yeah… He's my best and only friend…"

They both look even more surprised than when they found me on the floor.

"Do you want to tell me about what happened yesterday, and why your head is bandaged?"

"Well… Someone… tried to assassinate Gaara yesterday… So…"

"Wait what? Why would someone want to assassinate Gaara?"

"All I understood was that Gaara's dad wanted him dead… because he was dangerous… But that's not true!"

I feel tears roll down my cheeks as I remembered the things that happened last night, and how Gaara was really hurt by it.

"It's alright, don't cry…"

Temari wipes away my tears.

"We still don't know who that kid is…"

I hear Kankuro mumbling under his breath. I should really answer them, I guess…

"I'm Kiu…"

"Where are your parents? Do they know that you're here?"

Temari asks me while brushing my hair with her fingers.

"I don't know… I don't remember… if I even have any parents…"

"Is this brat in her right mind?"

"Kankuro, I told you to shut up."

"Kiu…?"

That voice… Gaara! I look to my right and I find him standing a little further away from us. He's looking at us with a very confused face.

"G… Gaara…"

Temari stutters.

"Gaara!"

I cry out his voice as I run towards him and hug him. I sob as he pats my back to comfort me.

"What's wrong? What happened? Kiu? Why are you crying?"

"I… I thought you were gone! I thought someone hurt you!"

I sob harder.

"Don't worry, I was just trying to get some food for you, but then I heard you talking to… them."

I finally stop crying and I pull away from Gaara. I look at the two people who were talking to me before. They look really shocked… and scared.

"You mean Temari and Kankuro? They tried to help me… They were just confused seeing me in your room. Who are they though?"

"I'm his… older sister. Kankuro here is my little brother and Gaara's older brother…"

Temari stutters. That's why she's so nice. She's like Gaara. But Gaara is nicer… I don't get how Kankuro is Gaara's older brother though… He's nothing like him! He's so mean… But wait… Are his siblings also afraid of him? How could they be like that? They're family!

"How long is this brat- I mean, your friend is staying here?"

"I don't know."

Gaara answers his brother with a little hostility in his voice. I guess they really aren't on really good terms with each other.

"I think it's fine for her to stay as much as she likes… If you two are hungry, I'll go bring you something to eat."

"No-"

"Thanks, Temari! I was getting hungry."

I cut Gaara off since I am really hungry… Now that I think about it, last time I ate was yesterday at Mari's house… which seems like a really long time ago. Gaara looks down to the floor in front of his feet and starts fidgeting a little.

"Fine… Thank… you…"

He said that so quietly that I doubt if Temari actually heard him. I look up at Temari and I see a little surprise on her face. She then heads downstairs and I spot a little smile on her face. So she did hear it. Maybe deep down, she wants to be closer to her brother, but their dad probably keeps filling their heads with lies about Gaara. Gaara then takes my hand and brings me back to his room. Kankuro's eyes follow us as if we're from a different planet or something. I still can't believe him and Gaara are related.


	5. If I Hadn't Met You

"Hey, Gaara, what's the Academy?"

It's been a few weeks that I've been staying at Gaara's place, and I've been hearing Temari and Kankuro talking about the "Academy" all the time. They seem to be going to that place every day. It seems like a really important thing.

"The Academy? The one Temari and Kankuro go to?"

"Yeah… Is it an important place or something?"

"The Academy is a place where they train people to become ninjas. You learn how to fight and control your chakra to make simple jutsu."

"So… Temari and Kankuro are training to become ninjas?"

"Exactly."

"Are you going to go the Academy too?"

"I would but…"

Gaara looks down.

"They won't let you…?"

"Yeah…"

There should be a way to attend the Academy…

"What if we both apply? I mean, it would be good for both of us to control our abilities right?"

"There wouldn't be any problem if you apply, but they won't let me apply."

"But… I want both of us to go…"

We have to both get in. It might also help me know more about where I come from. It will also help Gaara control his sand better. He'll be so strong if he does. Maybe…

"Temari can help us!"

"Temari? She won't help…"

Why is he so against getting along with his siblings? Well… I understand not wanting to get along with Kankuro, but Temari really cares. She's just a little afraid to show it. Probably because of their dad…

"She will. I know she'll at least try."

"Kiu…"

"Too late!"

I get up and run out of Gaara's room and head for Temari's. I knock on her door and she opens is after a few knocks.

"Ah, Kiu? What's wrong? You need something?"

"Well… I have a favour… to ask you…"

"A favour…?"

"Yeah… You see, I know that you and Kankuro go to the Academy… and… well…"

"You want to go too?"

"Not just me… Can both Gaara and me go?"

"Gaara…?"

She avoids making eye contact with me.

"I think it'll be good for him to control his sand… I mean… He would be less feared if he doesn't lose control… when he's all emotional and stuff…"

Temari sighs and finally stops avoiding my pleading gaze.

"I guess you're right on that point… But, why do you want to become a ninja? Is it just to be with Gaara?"

"Well, that's one reason, but… I also want to know a little more about my weird power absorb jutsu from dead people… Maybe I'll be able to know more about who I really am…"

"You did say that you lost all of your memories… But, wait… How do you remember your name?"

"Oh… that… Well, Mari told me that when they found me, I was in a state of shock and I was mumbling 'Kiu, you have to get away. I have to get away.' I was probably repeating something that someone told me, well at least that's what Mari's parents assumed."

"Well, whatever you went through before must've been traumatizing enough to make your brain erase it all. You sure you want to know what happened to you before you lost your memory?"

"…I would like to know… So… can you help us out?"

Temari sighs again. She's sighing a lot more than usual.

"I'll go talk to father and try to convince him that it'll help Gaara be in better control. If that doesn't work, I'll go talk directly to the Academy. And if that doesn't work either, I really don't know what else to do."

I give her one of my biggest, happiest smiles.

"Thank you so much, Temari!"

I hug her tightly.

"Okay, okay, calm down there, Kiu!"

I let go of her and rush back to Gaara's room. I find him standing at the door.

"Were you eavesdropping?"

Gaara's face changes to a deep red and he looks flustered.

"N… No I wasn't!"

"You were, weren't you?"

I giggle as his cheeks turn a darker shade of red. They're so cute, I just want to kiss them! Or pinch them, one or the other. How about both? I pinch his cheeks, which makes them even redder.

"Ow, ow! Kiu, cut it out!"

I let go of them and kiss his right cheek.

"Wh-What was that for?"

"I don't know! I just couldn't help it, because I'm so happy and you cheeks were just so adorable."

He gives me a little smile as he rubs his sore cheeks.

"So… do you think we'll be able to get into the Academy?"

"Temari will do everything she can for us to go there, so I'm pretty sure we will."

"How come you're so optimistic about everything?"

"Because… Every time something bad happens, something much better comes out of it. I mean, if I wasn't kicked out of Mari's house, I wouldn't be here, with you, all the time. And now, we're going to both attend the same Academy to become strong ninjas and we'll be best friends forever! How to not be optimistic when thinking of all this?"

Gaara smiles a much bigger smile and nods.

"You're right, I don't know what I would've ended up being if I hadn't met you…"


	6. Gaara's Father

"So, I talked to father…"

Gaara, Temari, and I were gathered in Gaara's room. She's finally starting to open up to her brother a little. And now, she is going to tell us if we can attend the Academy.

"And? What did he say?"

I'm a little nervous about the answer to my question, but I really want to know if our request was granted. Gaara also looks eager to know. He's been fidgeting since Temari came in.

"He… didn't agree…"

No way… Why wouldn't he? I look at Gaara and find his head hanging low.

"I knew it… He will never agree to letting me be around other people…"

"Gaara…"

I take his hand in mine. I look back a Temari.

"Isn't there any other way?"

"Well… He said that he wanted to meet you… then, he said that you might change his mind."

"Meet me…?"

"No!"

Gaara firmly says while frowning.

"But Gaara, it could be the only way."

"I won't let Kiu anywhere near him."

Temari lowers her gaze. She's kind of right, though. It could be the only way.

"I'll meet him."

"I won't let you…"

"Don't worry, Gaara. He only wants to talk. Besides, Temari is going to be with me."

"…Fine."

He's still frowning. I hate making him angry, but there's no better choice right now. Maybe I can actually make his father accept him? That would be awesome too! Temari gets up and heads for the door. She then turns around and looks at me.

"You're coming?"

"Oh! We're meeting him now?"

"Better get things done quickly, don't you think?"

"R… Right."

I wasn't expecting it to be so quick… I'm kind of nervous… I look at Gaara and he has this expression of shock and worry, while looking at Temari in disbelief. That's a lot of emotions in just one look. I wonder how I'm so good at reading his expressions. In fact, he's the only one that I can immediately understand how he feels. Well, this is not the time to daydream! I need to get this conversation with Gaara's dad over with. I go and follow Temari who leads me down the stairs. We go through a bunch of halls and then we arrive in front of a closed door.

"Now, Kiu. I want to tell you a few things that you should take into consideration when being around the Kazekage. First, you have to always address him as Lord Kazekage. Second, you can't interrupt him under any circumstances. Finally, you have to always agree with what he says and not openly oppose him. Got it?"

I nod, even though I completely blanked out at everything she just said. Mostly because it was too much information for my brain to take… It's probably also because I'm really nervous right now… But I have to talk to him… For Gaara's sake. Temari knocks on the door.

There's a short silence, until a voice comes from the other side of the door.

"Come in."

I gasp a little. I'm way more nervous than I thought. My hands are sweating, my knees are slightly shaking, and my mouth is dry. My voice will also be probably really shaky too. Temari opens the door and goes in first. I follow closely behind her. I look past Temari and I find some kind of see-through curtain that separates us from a man wearing a long white robe, with a white and blue hat. Looking at him more closely, he has similar features to Kankuro. He's sitting on a pillow, with two people sitting on each side of him. I bet those two are ninja.

"Lord Kazekage, I have brought Kiu here to you, as you requested."

Wow, Temari sounds so formal talking to her own father. Are they always like that? Do Kankuro and Gaara also act this way around their father? I bet Gaara doesn't even get close to his father. He doesn't like him very much with all those murder attempts.

"So… This is the girl who's been living in my house for the past few weeks."

He's talking about me isn't he… I feel like my tongue is stuck in my throat; I can't seem to be able to say anything.

"Yes, Lord Kazekage. Her name is Kiu."

"Kiu…"

"Y… Yes sir…"

I was able to say something! Man, that took so much energy… I look up at the Kazekage and find him staring right at me. I instantly lower my gaze.

"From what Temari told me, you are trying to attend the Academy with Gaara. Correct?"

"Yes…"

My voice is so small right now that I'm surprised he can actually hear it.

"Why?"

Why? I wasn't expecting him to ask me why! Now I have to actually give an answer that's longer than two words! Well, I want to say that it's because he has every right to attend the Academy, that I want to be able to attend it with him because we're best friends, and that it will be good for him so that he gets good control over his sand.

"Well… Why not…?"

Great… That's all I am able to say after all that thought process!

"You do know that he's a monster, don't you?"

A monster? That's one thing Gaara isn't!

"All I know is that there's a monster inside of him… That doesn't mean he's a monster."

I feel Temari nudging me. I look up at her and I see her putting her index finger on her lips. She wants me to shut up? But… I can't shut up if someone is badmouthing Gaara!

"Interesting. You are certainly the only person that thinks in that particular way. At least, the only person who firmly believes that."

The only one? I'm sure Temari also thinks like me, right? Maybe not before, but, now, she's actually less afraid of Gaara, and she tries to take care of both of us as much as she can.

"It will be quite interesting to see how you two try to fit in at the Academy."

Wait… Is he agreeing to let us attend the Academy?

"But I warn you, if I get any complaints regarding Gaara putting the life of the other students in danger, both of you will be… terminated."

Terminated? What does that mean? Whatever it is, it sounds pretty bad. But we made it! Gaara and I will be able to attend the Academy together, and become strong ninja. Then, we'll be best friends forever! This is exactly how I imagined it! Except the terminated part… I'll have to ask Temari about that.

"Lord Kazekage, are you sure about this?"

Temari's voice is shaking a little. Is terminated such a bad thing?

"Temari, I have made my decision. They will both start attending the Academy next season. Which is, conveniently, next week. I will talk to the Academy about letting Gaara attend, and ask them to relate to me every move he makes. It is all for the sake of the village."

"…Yes, Lord Kazekage."

"You are both dismissed."

Temari takes my hand and drags me out of the Kazekage's office. When she closes the door, she looks at the floor.

"Was this such a good idea…?"

"What do you mean, Temari? Isn't that what we wanted?"

"Kiu, you don't get, do you?"

"What do you mean? All I didn't get was the terminated part, other than that it all sounded pretty good!"

"It is that part that makes everything bad! He means that he's going to have you both killed if Gaara loses control and puts someone in danger! You know how easily that could happen…"

"…Kill us?"

Man, that's harsh… I didn't really get it at first, but now that Temari told me…

"Gaara won't do that."

That is what I firmly believe, though. I know Gaara won't put anyone's life in danger.

"How would you know? It's out of anyone's hands, even Gaara's…"

"Gaara can control it! He's stronger than you think!"

"…Kiu. I really hope you're right."

"Let's keep it a secret from Gaara, though. I don't want him to worry."

"Yeah, you're right. We can't have him lose control over his emotions."


	7. First Day

"So, you did it?"

Gaara looks a little surprised that we were actually able to convince the Kazekage to letting us go to the Academy.

"How many times am I supposed to repeat it to you?"

"Are you… sure? So… We can attend the Academy?"

"Yes, Gaara! Aren't you happy? We'll be together the whole time while learning cool new moves and we'll become super strong together!"

Gaara's face starts to slowly switch from a surprised look to a wide smile. He then runs towards me and, before I could react, he gives me a huge hug, which makes us both fall on the ground. He doesn't let go, though. I've never seen him so happy, I can't help but laugh out of joy.

"Kiu! Y-You did it! We're going to go the Academy together! You're the best!"

"I'm glad you're happy Gaara, but you're a little heavy!"

I was saying this while giggling. I'm also really happy about this situation, but, at the same time, in the back of my mind, the Kazekage's words echo… Terminated… We just have to be careful! Besides, Gaara won't easily go down, he's way too strong.

"Well, I'm going to leave you two to your celebrations. I have some things I need to attend to."

Temari gets up and heads for the door. I really should thank her for everything. After all, without her, we wouldn't have been able to even consider the possibility of attending the Academy.

"Temari!"

She turns around and looks at me.

"Thank you… for everything…"

Her eyes widen a little bit. Then I hear a little mumbling from behind me. A little mumbling that sounds like a 'thank you'. Temari's eyes widen even more. She heard it too! It was Gaara wasn't it!

"Y… You don't have to thank me! I did it because I wanted to! Anyways, if you ever need anything, just tell me!"

She leaves in a hurry.

"Hey, Kiu?"

I turn around to look at Gaara, who's still smiling.

"Yeah?"

"Well, when are we going to go to the Academy?"

"Next week!"

His smile disappears and panic runs through his face.

"W-What? Next week? Isn't this going too fast? How are we supposed to get ready for this?"

"Stop panicking, we'll just go and see when the time comes."

"How come you're so calm about this? You're not worried?"

"Not really. I'm just really looking forward to it! I mean, we'll learn so many new things, and meet so many new people, and get so many new friends!"

"…Friends? I don't think that'll happen… Not as long as you hang out with me…"

"Well then, it's their loss! I won't ever leave you, even if no one ever talks to me again. As long as you still want me as your friend, I'll always be."

Tears start welling up in Gaara's eyes.

"Kiu… We'll always be together right? No one will ever break us apart right?"

I hold Gaara's shoulders and look him straight in the eyes.

"No one ever will! I promise you, Gaara. I'll always be there!"

A small smile appear on Gaara's face and he nods. I smile back. Gaara, I really will always stay with you. Nothing will ever make me leave you.

It's finally today… The day that Gaara's been worrying about for the past week… Now that it's actually here, I'm a little bit worried myself…

We haven't let go of each other's hands since we left the Kazekage mansion. Now, we're in front of the Academy, standing a little far from all the other kids. It's mostly because the kids and their parents didn't really want to stand too close to Gaara. Now that I think of it, we're the only ones that don't have our parents with us. The Kazekage probably doesn't want to show up… Oh well, we'll just have to deal with everything by ourselves! We don't need to depend on anyone but each other.

My gaze wonders over all the kids that will probably be in the same class as us. I recognize some of them that Mari introduced me to when we were still friends.

"Come on, Mom, Dad! We're going to be late!"

Wait… I recognize that voice… It's coming from behind me. Could it be? This is definitely Mari's voice. I turn my head around and I see her dragging her parents along with her. She doesn't notice Gaara and me, and heads for where all of her friends are. She's still as popular as ever.

"Kiu… Are you alright?"

I turn my head to face Gaara. He's worried… He probably noticed Mari, too.

"Don't worry, I'm over it! I mean, I have a much better friend now, anyway."

That's true, and I do believe in what I just said, but it still hurts to be betrayed by the person you thought was your friend.

"If you say so…"

I turn my gaze back to Mari, who's now engaged in some kind of conversation with her group of friends. I notice how one of them is talking to her and pointing at us. She turns her head towards where the guy pointed at. Our eyes meet. She then almost immediately starts dragging her friends further away so that we don't see them anymore. It's just as I thought. She definitely doesn't think of me as a friend anymore. More than anything, I think that it's the reason behind why she's ignoring me that makes me the most angry. If me being Gaara's friend is making her that way, then she's not worth being friends with.

"Ow, Kiu! You're squeezing my hand a little too much…"

"Oh! Sorry about that, Gaara…"

I loosen my grip on his hand. I guess I unconsciously squeezed his hand a little too much…

"Hey, is that our sensei?"

I turn my gaze to where Gaara is looking. I see a man coming out of the Academy. He's a little tanned, and he's wearing a headband. I think it's what all ninja wear. His hair is brown and very short that it looks like a lot of little spikes are sticking out of his head. He takes out a sheet of paper and clears his throat.

"Hello everyone, I will be one of the sensei of some of the new students. If I call your name, it means that I will be your sensei until you graduate. When I call your name, come to the front."

"Wait, there's more than one class?"

I whisper to Gaara.

"If that's the case, then… we might not be in the same class?"

Gaara looks at me with a worried face.

"No, we'll definitely be together!"

"Ahem… So, the students that will be in my class are…"

He says a few names, from which I recognize only Mari's.

"And… G-Gaara…"

The teacher hesitates at Gaara's name. There are a few whispers of shock. Gaara looks at me with a panicked face.

"Go on, Gaara. It'll be alright, I'll be there when he calls my name."

We finally let go of each other's hand, and he starts walking forward. People immediately got out of his way. It was more like they were running away… I follow him until I at the front of the crowd of kids and parents still waiting. He keeps looking at me with a lot of worry apparent on his face. I just give him a smile, trying to be as positive as possible.

The sensei calls out other names, but mine still doesn't show up. What if we really won't be in the same class? I can't let Gaara be alone in the same class as Mari and her group of friends! Who knows how horrible they'll be to him? I have to protect him from all their evil schemes! I can't just leave him alone!

"Kiu? Is Kiu here?"

Wait, what? Was that my name? Did I not hear it because I was worrying too much? I look up at Gaara and he motions for me to come over. It seems like he's been trying to get my attention from the first time the teacher said my name.

"Is Kiu here?"

"Y-Yes! It's me… Sorry…"

I go up in front and stand next to Gaara.

"W… Well, pay more attention next time."

"Yes, sir…"

He's probably surprised that I chose to stand next to Gaara, since everyone else was at least standing two peoples' length away from him. I'm just glad we're in the same class.


	8. Mari's True Colours

"Hey Gaara, let's take the seat back there next to the window!"

Gaara nods and lets me drag him up to where the seat is. Right when I reach the row where I wanted to sit, I see someone rush in front of me and shove me out of the way. Even though the shove was pretty strong, I managed to keep my balance.

"Hey…!"

I look at the person who pushed me, and I see Mari and a guy that I've never seen before take the spot that I wanted. She completely ignores the fact that I'm there.

"Kiu, are you alright?"

I turn my head and find Gaara looking at me with a worried face.

"Yeah, I'm fine…"

I look back at Mari and glare at her. She's still not paying attention to me. I start seeing sand slowly making its way towards Mari and the boy she's with. No way… Gaara wouldn't…! Wait, where is that sand coming from anyway? I look around and find out that the windows are open. Well that explains it… My attention goes back to Gaara, who looks pretty angry. If I don't stop him, his dad will learn about this and… Without thinking any further, I take his hand and drag him to some other seats which happen to be in front of those I wanted.

"Here, Gaara! This is a much better place!"

I make him sit down in the seat closest to the window, and I sit next to him. He looks at me with a surprised face.

"Kiu… Are you sure?"

"Yeah, trust me. I mean, look at that view!"

Okay, the view is nothing special, but I just need to get his attention away from Mari and her friend.

"Is everyone seated?"

The teacher starts scanning the room with his eyes, looking for anyone who might not have found a seat yet. I look around and find that there is a girl who's looking around nervously. She has short light green hair, and yellowish eyes. She's also wearing huge round glasses that almost reach all the way down to her mouth. I notice that the only seat available is next to me. She's probably scared to come here…

"You're Yukari, right?"

The sensei is probably addressing that girl. She lets out a small gasp, and looks at the sensei while fumbling around with her feet.

"Um… Yes… That's my name…"

She stutters a lot. She's probably really shy.

"Well, Yukari, why don't you go sit there next to Kiu?"

More than a question, it sounded more like an order… Yukari looks at the floor and slowly nods. She makes her way to the row that we're sitting in. She looks at me, and I give her a cheerful smile. I feel like I need to make her know that I'm actually a friendly person. She gives me a shy smile, and sits next to me.

"Now that everyone is finally seated, I will talk to you about the classes you'll be taking during your time here. You will have school six days a week, unless there is a special circumstance…"

The sensei goes on about what the special circumstances might be. Ow! Something hit the back of my head… I rub my head and look at the floor behind me. A pen? Did the person behind me drop it? I pick it up and turn around to give it to whoever dropped it. It's Mari… I put it on her desk, and she looks at me with a lot of disdain. I turn back to the front.

A few minutes later, something hits the back of my head again. I turn around again, and it's the same pen. Is she doing this on purpose? Good thing Gaara is fully concentrated on what sensei is saying, because he would've probably been really angry if he found out that Mari is hitting me with her pen. Well, I just won't pick it up then. She won't be getting it until the end of class.

A few seconds later, I feel something hitting my head again. I turn around and find an eraser on the floor. Is she going to do that with every single thing she has? If I ignore her, maybe she'll stop…

"Kiu, is everything alright?"

Gaara whispers to me. He doesn't know that Mari's bothering… Let's keep that way.

"Nothing! Let's pay attention to what the teacher is saying."

Throughout the whole time that the teacher was talking, Mari was throwing all sorts of things at me. Yukari started to notice that something was wrong, but I told her to not say anything.

"Now that I've told you everything you need to know about how things at the Academy work, we're going to go training for the next four hours. It'll only be basic physical training to build up your bodies and endurance."

Good… I was starting to lose my patience with Mari. We all start getting up to follow sensei.

"Kiu, can I talk to you for a bit?"

Was that Mari? I turn around and I see her giving me a fake smile. She's up to no good… She always gave those smiles to the people she really didn't like. What did I do to make her hate me so much?

"Why?"

Gaara stands in front of me in a protective way. Mari's smile fades away to a fearful grimace. I have to get him away from them... I can't have him lose control.

"Hey, Gaara, let's go before sensei leaves us behind! Come on, you too, Yukari."

I take Gaara's hand and Yukari's hand and drag them away from Mari and her friend. She'll probably try to get back at me for this… I shouldn't start worrying about that now, though.


	9. Comrades

"Everyone, we will begin by doing a few basic fitness exercises to increase your physical strength and stamina. This will be a daily routine, and I will gradually give you more advanced exercises. To start, run 20 laps around the school. Last one to arrive will be on cleaning duty."

No way! I hate cleaning! I don't even know how to clean! Well, I should just focus and make sure I'm not last. I also have to make sure that Gaara isn't last, either. And Yukari too… She seems really frail, I hope she'll do well.

"Hey, Yukari, good luck!"

She looks at me with a concerned face and nods.

"You too, Kiu."

I smile at her and give her a pat on the shoulder. Does she count as a new friend now? I feel like we'll be good friends! Gaara doesn't seem to mind her either. I look at Gaara, and encourage him too.

"Make sure you're not last either, Kiu."

Gaara says to me while smiling. Even though it doesn't show, I'm actually really confident in my physical ability! Maybe the family I used to have trained me really well… I'm pretty sure I'll end up being one of the first ones.

"On your marks…"

This is it! I'll show everyone just how strong I really am!

"Get set…"

I should keep a good pace, without wasting too much energy.

"GO!"

All of us start running. After a few laps, a lot fall back. I look around, making sure that Gaara and Yukari are still close. Gaara didn't seem to have any difficulty. In fact, he was starting to get faster than me. Well, he's got a lot of stamina! Now, where's Yukari? I take a peek behind me, and I find her, doing her best to stick close. She's starting to look a little tired, though… Is that Mari behind her? Yukari starts to lose her pace, but Mari isn't. In fact, she's almost past Yukari when…

"Move it, dork!"

She pushes her aside, causing Yukari to fall on the ground. Yukari! What should I do? I should help Yukari! But… I'll definitely be last if I do that… But Yukari's my friend! That's right! I stop running, and go back to where Yukari fell.

"Yukari, are you alright?"

"Kiu! You're going to be last if you don't keep running."

"So what? I'm not going to abandon a friend. Can you stand up?"

"I think…"

I try to help her up, but she lets out a pained scream.

"I think I twisted my ankle…"

Now what… I look around to find sensei.

"Sensei, my friend fell…"

"So?"

"She's hurt…"

"Until the end of this exercise, she will have to manage. A ninja should never abandon a mission, no matter what happens, and that also goes for Academy exercises. Now go back to running."

"Yes sir…"

I should hurry and find a way to help Yukari before Gaara finds out… If he does, then he'll also end up last with us. I know! I'll give her a piggyback! I go back to where Yukari is.

"Hey, Yukari, get on my back!"

"What? No way! I'm too heavy for you!"

"Don't underestimate me…"

"You sure…?"

After some convincing, she finally gets on my back, and I start running again. Strangely enough, she's much lighter than I thought she would be. It's actually not that much harder running with her on my back. How come it's so easy? I start catching up to all the people who passed us. I finally start seeing Mari's back. If I get past her, it'll be as if this incident never held us back. After a few seconds, I finally catch up to Mari. I don't even have time to check her reaction, because I'm so concentrating on getting good results on this exercise. My goal is to catch up with Gaara, even though it's practically impossible, considering he's almost the first one… He's like half a lap ahead. We have about five more laps to go. I probably won't make it to the top three, but I'll be in the top five for sure. I pass a few more people, and it's finally the last lap.

"We're almost there, Kiu! You can do it!"

Yukari's encouragement makes try my hardest to keep my pace up. This is actually getting really tiring. My legs are starting to feel sore. I can't give up now. Finally… Almost there…

"Kiu, you did it!"

I almost collapse after having reached the end of the lap. That was tough… I go to where all those who finished are standing, with Yukari still on my back. I'm sweating like crazy, and my breathing is really heavy. I spot Gaara, and go to where he is. When he sees me, he rushes to me, and looks at me with a worried expression.

"Kiu, what happened?"

"Yukari… twisted… her ankle…"

I say while panting. Gaara uses his sand to slowly take Yukari off my back, and slowly sits her on the ground. Right after I feel Yukari's weight off my back, my legs give in and I fall on my butt, while heavily panting. I go sit next to where Yukari is sitting, and give her a high five.

"Told you not to underestimate me…"

"Thank you so much, Kiu. You're really something."

Gaara comes over and sits next to me.

"You're going to both be okay, right?"

"Don't worry about me, Gaara. It's Yukari's ankle that's more important right now…"

I take a look at her ankle, and I find out how I'm supposed to take care of it, as if all the knowledge was already there in my brain, even though it's the first time I see a twisted ankle. I've only heard of it, and how it's painful. Then again, I remember how I was able to treat both Gaara and my wounds after absorbing Yashamaru's medical knowledge. I wonder if I was also able to absorb that flying kunai technique. I'll probably know when I use some kunai knifes. As for Yukari's ankle, it doesn't seem too serious. It should heal in a few days, if she rests, and it should get bandaged, too, to keep it in place. I'm pretty sure someone more qualified than me will do that for her.

Finally, everyone finishes their laps, and a boy with shoulder length brown hair ends up last. I think his name is Yuto. He seems like the type of guy who just doesn't want to give his all in anything. I guess that's probably why he ended up last. Sensei finally comes to us when everyone finished.

"Well, I see that everyone made it. I was very impressed with some of you, while others really disappointed me. Hurting your comrades is unacceptable as a ninja. If I catch you again, I won't let it slide so easily."

Heh! He's probably talking about Mari. Let's hope she gets it.

"As a ninja, you should always place the mission as your first priority. However, if your comrades are in danger and you are confident that you will be able to help them without it hindering the mission, then you should go to their aid. Then again, if it does hinder the mission, you will have no choice but to leave your comrades behind."

…Leave them behind? Is that really what a ninja should do?

"Now, this ends your first day. As I said, the last one who arrived, Yuto, will be in charge of cleaning up the classroom. You may all go home now."


	10. At the End of a School Day

After getting Yukari to the school medics, Gaara and I started heading back to his place.

"You still look really exhausted, Kiu."

"Don't worry! I'm stronger than you think."

He's right though… My legs are really aching. But I don't regret a thing! I showed Mari what I'm made of! I'll have to ask Yukari how Mari reacted when I ran past her. It must've been a priceless face… I guess that's the one thing I regret: not being able to catch Mari's reaction to my awesomeness. I feel really sleepy right now… I think I need a good break. I feel like my legs are going to give out anytime now.

"Ow…!"

Just as I thought…

"Kiu!"

Gaara comes rushing next to me, and crouches down. Yes… I fell… Just like I thought I would.

"Gaara… I think my legs are a little too tired…"

"Well that's not a surprise… What is more surprising is that they didn't give out earlier."

Without saying anything else, Gaara uses his sand to place me on his back.

"Hehe, this is fun! I don't remember anyone giving me a piggyback before."

"Don't make it a habit… You're heavier than you look."

"Well, you could've used your sand to lift me instead…"

"It takes too much concentration."

"I guess… Thanks, Gaara."

A hint of red slowly appears on Gaara's cheeks, well I can only see one cheek right now, but I'm guessing the other one is the same.

"You're welcome…"

We arrive at the Kazekage's mansion, and Gaara heads straight to his room, then slowly puts me down on his bed that he never really uses…

"I think if I just lie down now, I'll faint from exhaustion!"

"Already? It's still bright outside. But I guess after what you did, you deserve a break."

"I was pretty awesome, right?"

Gaara chuckles, and nods. We talk for a bit about how our first day went, and then we hear a knock on the room's door. Who could that be? Gaara gets up to open the door to whoever it is that knocked.

"Um… Hey, Gaara… How was your first day of school?"

It's Temari's voice! Great, I really want to tell her how our first day was! I get up and rush to the door.

"Temari!"

I take her hand and pull her in the room.

"I thought you said you were so tired that you could faint from exhaustion..."

"I did say that, Gaara, but I feel very energetic all of a sudden!"

Probably because I'm so excited to tell Temari all about what happened.

"Was your first day that tiring?"

Temari sounds amused, probably at how hyper I am, even though I do still feel a little tired.

I tell Temari about how Gaara and I are in the same class, and how we had to run , and how Yukari got hurt, and how I carried her on my back while running, and how I was still one of the first ones… Anyway, I told her about a lot things. She just nodded while smiling and looking a bit confused. I made sure not to mention Mari in front of Gaara, because who knows how angry he might get… I'll tell Temari about Mari when Gaara is not around.

"Hey Temari, what did you do on your second day at the Academy?"

I'm really curious about what we'll be doing tomorrow.

"If I remember correctly, you'll be doing a lot of math and history. There's also going to be some geography involved. You'll be doing some physical training, too. It's going to be like that for the whole year."

"Hmm… That's really similar to what we did today. When is it that we start training with weapons?"

"Well… I think it'll be around next week."

I'm really excited about the weapons, because then I can see if I really did absorb that flying kunai technique from Yashamaru. Besides, it'll be fun to learn how to use weapons.

"Hey, Temari! Where are you?"

That sounds like Kankuro… What does he want with Temari?

"He's probably going to ask me to train with him."

She says in a lower voice to us and then proceeds with a louder voice.

"I'm in Gaara's room, Kankuro."

There's a certain silence and then we hear a timid knock on door. It's probably Kankuro. I'm still not very comfortable around him, so I go and hide behind Gaara, while Temari gets up to get the door.

"What is it Kankuro?"

She asks him after opening the door.

"Well… I was wondering if… you could come train with me."

"Alright, just a second."

She looks back at us and smiles apologetically.

"Sorry Kiu, I'll listen to the rest of what you want to tell me later, and… see you around, Gaara."

I wave at her, and she leaves with Kankuro. As soon as they're gone, I come out from behind Gaara.

"I feel all exhausted again…"

"You're funny."

"Am I?"

We both giggle at our nonsense.

"Temari is a really nice sister, don't you think?"

Gaara stays silent.

"But Kankuro on the other hand annoys and scares me."

"Why?"

"Well, as soon as he first saw me, he kept asking me who I was and then flicked me on the forehead when I was too shocked to answer."

Gaara giggles at my overly dramatic actions as I was describing my first encounter with Kankuro. I suddenly start yawning after finishing what I had to say.

"You should go sleep."

"I'm still fine… Besides, I want to spend more time with you."

"But you see me every day all day, don't you get sick of me?"

"How can you say something like…?"

Before I could finish my sentence, I start yawning again.

"Go to sleep, Kiu. I'll be right next to you."

"…Fine."

I get up on the bed and Gaara sits down next to me. As soon as I lie down and put my head on the pillow, I fall into a very very very deep sleep.


	11. Us Three

The next I wake up, and I find Gaara staring at me.

"You're awake. You're up early."

Gaara smiles at me.

"Were you staring at me the whole night?"

I rub my eyes and sit up on the bed.

"No. I was actually a little busy last night."

Gaara looks away. He seems to have a lot of things on his mind.

"Really? What did you do?"

I stretch a little, waiting for him to talk.

"You know about the monster inside me?"

"Yeah, you told me about him."

What is he getting at?

"Well, to be more specific, his name is Shukaku."

"How do you know that? Did he tell you?"

That's so cool! The monster has a name! Maybe we can all be friends!"

"Well yeah he did… Last night."

"Did you meet him? That's awesome! Can I meet him, too?"

Gaara looks at me, surprised.

"You're not… scared of him?"

Scared?

"Why should I be? I mean, yeah, a lot of people are scared of him, so they're scared of you, too, but I found out that you weren't scary. Couldn't be the same for Mr. Shukaku?"

"Mr. … Shukaku?"

Gaara looks at me weirdly, and giggles.

"What? Why are you laughing?"

"Actually, the Shukaku told me last night that he'll keep a low profile, because you were a really interesting and extremely strange person."

"I'm strange?"

I never thought I was. Or am I… Or maybe it's because I'm just awesome. Or maybe it's because I'm such a nice person! Hehe.

"I think it's time to start getting ready for school."

"Right! I hope it's going to be a fun day again today."

Gaara and I arrive at our class, and find Yukari waiting for us. I wave at her, and run up to sit next to her. Gaara follows me, and sits next to me.

"Good morning, Yukari!"

"Good morning, Kiu! And… Gaara."

She's still so shy around Gaara. I mean she's originally super shy, but I'm easy to deal with, especially since we're both girls, so it's kind of understandable that she's shy with Gaara, who doesn't really talk much. At least she's not afraid of him like all the other kids. She figured out that he's really a nice person. Gaara looks at her and nods. A little smile appears on his face. He's happy to have another friend. Isn't he just so cute? I want to pinch his cheeks! But I won't do it since we're at school and all…

"Oh yeah, how's your ankle doing, Yukari?"

"It's as good as new. The medics did a really good job, but they were also really impressed with the first aid bandaging you gave me. They couldn't believe it when I told them you were the one who did it."

"Hehe. I just tried my best."

I just wish these talents didn't have to come from dead people… It's like I need to find dead shinobi to become super strong or something. I don't like that…

Yukari nudges me, and points at the classroom entrance. I look at where she's pointing, and realize that Mari and her little crew just came in. I turn to Yukari and whisper as softly as possible so that Gaara doesn't hear.

"Ignore her, Yukari."

I'm actually really mad at her. I know she's got something against me, but dragging Yukari into this just isn't right. Mari shoots me a hateful glare on her way up to her seat. I respond with a triumphant smile. Haha, that pissed her off so much! I bet if Gaara wasn't right here, she would've come over and hit me. She goes and takes her seat right behind me. Well… I guess I better mentally prepare myself for a lot of objects getting thrown at me. Man, if I was Gaara, none of these things would even be able to touch me!

The teacher arrives, and just like Temari said, we're learning a bunch of academic stuff, starting with math: at what distance a kunai should be thrown and at what strength, depending on what target we're aiming at.

This is so complicated… Shouldn't it just be by instinct or something? Or even by training? It's not like I'll be calculating all this in my head when I plan to throw a kunai! And the stuff that are being thrown at the back of my head aren't exactly helping me concentrate. Mari's lucky that I'm not making a fuss about it, or Gaara would've already killed her by now. The problem is, the objects she's throwing at me start getting bigger and stronger. I think that last one was a metal ruler.

"Ah…!"

Something really painful just hit my head… Gaara turns his attention towards me. I hold the back of my head, rubbing it to ease the pain. It's unnaturally warm… and moist? I look at my hands and… blood! What did Mari throw at me? I look behind me, and among all the other stuff on the ground, I find a pair of scissors! She's insane!

"Kiu! You're bleeding!"

Yukari exclaims after noticing the blood. Gaara isn't saying anything, but he looks really mad. The teacher stopped his lesson, and turned his whole attention towards us.

"What is going on back there?"

"Sir! Kiu is bleeding!"

Yukari stands up to emphasize her panic.

"Bleeding? What happened?"

Well, I've had it! I'll just tell him about what Mari did.

"It was M…"

"Oh my, I'm so sorry, Kiu! The scissors slipped out of my hands!"

Before I could finish my sentence, Mari cuts me off and uses a very realistic tone of voice to lie about what happened. She's always been a good liar… The teacher, even though it looks like he doesn't really buy it, tries to minimize the problem.

"Well, I guess it was an accident. Kiu, you can go to the medics, and if you need anyone to accompany you just go ahead and take someone with you."

"…Yes, sensei…"

I get up, and head for the classroom's exit. Gaara immediately gets up and follows me. When we're both outside the classroom, he starts talking.

"Are you alright, Kiu?"

"I'm fine, it's just a scratch."

"Mari did it, didn't she…"

I nod. I didn't want him to figure it out, but now it's just downright obvious.

"She's also the one who hurt Yukari's ankle, right?"

I look at him, surprised that he knows about that.

"How do you know?"

"I'm not that gullible, Kiu. But I did figure out that you didn't want me to know, so I kept quiet."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you… I just didn't want you to worry."

"And you don't want me to get mad and kill her."

"…That too."

"Don't worry, I'll do my best to contain it."

We finally get to the medics, and they take care of my wound. We then go back to the class, where sensei was now teaching the history of Sunagakure. When we get to our spots, I notice Gaara giving Mari a death glare. For the whole remainder of the class, she didn't dare throw anything else at me. I guess Gaara finding out about what Mari's been doing is not such a bad thing. I reassure Yukari about my wound, because she looks really worried.

"Alright, class! It's time for some physical training. We'll be learning the basics of fighting techniques."

Fighting! It'll be so much fun!

"Man… That was… so hard…"

I think I overdid it… We were supposed to do fifty kick, and fifty punches, but I wanted to challenge myself so I did a hundred of each… Definitely not doing that again…

"I'm still impressed you were actually able to do a hundred kicks, and a hundred punches! When I was at only twenty punches, I already felt myself getting tired."

Yukari actually has a really unexpected side to her. Like she said, after twenty punches, she was starting to get tired. And how do I know that? Well, she didn't stop reminding me that she was feeling tired, and that she didn't know if she was going to be able to get through this exercise. She gets way more talkative when she's doing something she doesn't like.

"Sometimes I wonder if you like to challenge yourself, or if you're just crazy, Kiu."

Gaara says from behind me. He doesn't look tired at all.

"Oh… Hey! I'm not crazy! How come you don't look tired?"

"Because I just did what I was asked to do. If I tried to do more, I would've ended up in the same state as you."

"I'm really starting to regret pushing myself so much…"

Yukari and Gaara giggle at my pouty face. This makes me giggle along with them. I really hope all three of us will stay friends forever.


	12. Tests

"Haha! I totally aced that test!"

It was my first test ever, and I nailed it! I'm so glad I knew all the answers. It compiled all the stuff sensei taught us for the past month.

"I think I did well, too."

"Well, you do look like the smart type, Yukari. What about you Gaara? I bet you knew all the answers right away."

Gaara looks at me, and flashes me a triumphant smile.

"Of course I knew everything."

Great! All three of us are confident about what the results will be. We still have the physical examination after. Apparently, if we don't pass it, we won't be allowed to start learning about how to use weapons. We can't allow this to happen to any of the three of us.

"You guys ready to head for the physical exam place?"

I look at them with a lot of determination. Yukari seems a little worried. Gaara seems pretty confident, though.

We arrive at the training grounds of the Academy, where we're practically the first ones there. Not long after, however, the others start arriving as well. I'm actually starting to feel a little nervous…

"Alright, everyone. Gather around, so that I can tell you the rules of the physical tests."

We all get in lines in front of sensei, waiting for his instructions.

"Good. Now, let me explain the physical tests. The goal of these tests is to evaluate your stamina, strength, and reflexes. There are three tests that you will need to go through, and the total marks of all three will decide whether you pass or not. Of course, if you completely fail in one of the three, you will automatically fail your physical test. As you all know, if you don't pass, we can't let you train any further, since it will just be dangerous if you do not have the appropriate skills. Now, let's start with the first test. You will be in a group of four people. The only reason why you'll be in these groups is because you'll be taking the test at the same time."

I still hope I'm with Gaara and Yukari. Not a lot of people in the class really like me anyways… Especially since I'm on Mari's blacklist.

"The groups are…"

Sensei starts calling out the names of the students, and, bit by bit, groups of four start getting formed.

"Next group will be Gaara, Yukari…"

I'm in this one too, right?

"Yuto, and Daiki."

Wait… What about me…? Gaara and Yukari look at me worriedly. I just give them a smile, telling them I'm alright, and they go join the rest of their group. Yuto doesn't seem to mind that Gaara is in his team, but Daiki, a short guy with frizzy dirty blonde hair takes a step back when Gaara gets to his group.

It's just a test. The group is just for the test, it's not the end of the world! This could also be a good chance for me to make new friends!

"Next is Kiu, Mari, Ikki, and Koji."

Out of all people… It had to be Mari and her new boyfriend, Koji! At least, Ikki is the most neutral towards me out of the whole bunch. Koji is basically the most good-looking guy in the academy, according to all the girls, except me. I personally find Gaara to be the most good-looking. All the girls keep going on and on about how his white hair is so silky, or how his deep blue eyes are dreamy. I find his blue eyes rather creepy. Ikki is a really tall guy. He's the tallest in the class. He has black hair that covers his eyes. He doesn't really talk to anyone. I think I'll stick around him, and keep away from Mari and Koji.

After sensei finishes calling out the groups, he starts explaining how the tests will go.

"First test will be running one lap around the school. You might think that one lap is nothing, but there's a catch. There is a time limit of twenty seconds. You will literally need to be sprinting throughout the whole run. Anyone who runs this in more than thirty seconds will automatically fail everything without even getting a chance to do the other tests. If you make it in more than twenty seconds, but less than thirty, you will be in danger of failing. You will have to make it up in the next tests. When I call your group number, it means that you're up."

Twenty seconds will be tough, but I can do it. I'm a little worried about Yukari, though. We're group number six. Gaara's group is number two. Him and Yukari will be evaluated early.

The first group starts getting ready.

"Ugh… I can't believe we're stuck with her."

I hear Mari talking to Koji.

"Don't worry. It's only for the test."

Koji somehow looks uninterested.

"Why are you always like that when I mention her? It's like you don't care about how awful she is to me!"

Koji sighs. I'm awful to her? She should get her facts straight.

"Look Mari, we've talked about this. I don't want to get involved in all of that girl drama."

I snort. Mari glares at me. Woops… I couldn't help it. I wanted to laugh, but, by containing it, I ended up snorting instead.

"Hey! What's so funny, loser?"

She really knows how to piss me off…

"What's funny? You."

I point at her and give her a smirk. I hear a chuckle coming from next to me. Ikki just chuckled. I notice that Koji is hiding his mouth with his hand behind Mari.

She slaps my hand away, and flicks her hair.

"Don't point your dirty finger at me."

"Well at least it's not as dirty as your way of dealing with people."

"Big mistake to make me angry, Kiu."

"Whatever, I've had it with passively taking all of your abuse."

I turn away from her. I don't feel like continuing this conversation. It's just making me angrier, and I need to be in top shape for the test.

"Alright, class. Let's get started."


	13. The First Test

The first group is up. We all wait in the training grounds of the Academy until our group's number is called. We're sitting in order according to our group's number. Gaara and Yukari are so far from where I am… I wish I was in the same group as them.

"Hey…"

I look beside me to the person who softly called out. Ikki is looking at me, and seems to be hesitating in continuing whatever he has to say to me.

"What is it, Ikki?"

"Umm… Well… I was wondering why you're not afraid of Gaara. I mean, no one really dares to approach him, but you… You seem pretty close to him."

"Is it really that strange?"

I take a serious tone and look him in the eyes.

"What I don't understand is why people are afraid of him, without even trying to get to know him."

Ikki remains a little speechless after what I said. But, am I not right? If people give Gaara a chance, I'm sure no one will ever be afraid of him.

"Maybe you are right…"

Ikki says after a moment of silence. I smile at him.

"All the adults keep talking about how he's a bloodthirsty monster… who will kill anyone who gets close to him, but… He hasn't killed you."

"Because what they say is not true. They say that because they're afraid of anything that's different and more powerful than them."

Ikki scratches his head, looking like he's deep in thought. I don't mean it in a bad way, but this guy is very slow about everything. From the way he talks, to the way he thinks, to the way he acts. It's like I'm watching someone in slow motion. It's calming, though.

"That's true… Do you think… I could learn to… not be afraid of him?"

"I'm sure you can! I'll help you. Just like how Yukari now is getting used to Gaara. She was a little afraid at first, too. Now, they've become pretty good friends. I don't see why that can't happen to you too."

Ikki's mouth hangs open for a bit. It then transforms into a smile.

"Will they ever shut up…"

A low mumble, clearly addressed to us comes from the other side. Mari really never misses a chance to annoy me. It's become almost boring… I don't even feel like replying. Might as well just ignore her.

"So Ikki, let's all go home together today after school. Like that you'll get to know Gaara and Yukari, too."

Ikki looks at me, and slowly nods.

"Group 2! You guys are up next!"

"Oh! That's Gaara and Yukari's team!"

I get up on my knees to see better. Gaara's group gets to the starting point. Gaara looks at me, and I smile and wave at him. He smiles back, and turns his attention to the front. I'm a little worried about Yukari. She seems pretty worried herself. Sensei gives the signal to start. They all start running, and, as I feared, Yukari starts falling behind. Will she be able to make it under the time limit? Gaara looks behind him. He's probably worried about Yukari too.

Gaara ends up second, within fifteen seconds. Yukari is still way too far to make it in five seconds or less! I wish I could help her somehow… I just hope she won't exceed thirty seconds. If she does, then there's no chance for her to pass the physical exam. All of her group is already done, and there's only four seconds left to thirty. I close my eyes, praying that she'll make it.

"28 seconds! Yukari, you failed this test, but at least you still have a chance to pass the physical exam. Next group!"

She did it! I know she'll be able to make it with the other tests. She's only bad at running. When their group finished, they go back to their place. Alright, now all that's left is to wait for my group's turn.

"Hey Ikki, you're good at running, right?"

He looks at me and tilts his head.

"I… wouldn't say… good. I guess… I'm alright."

"Well then, let's both make sure we make it."

He nods.

"When it comes… to you… I think you'll be… first."

"To be honest, I think so, too!"

I giggle and he giggles along. I hear someone scoff. Mari, no doubt…

"Alright, Group 6, you guys are up."

Ah! It's our turn already! I get up and follow the others to the starting point. I look over at Gaara and Yukari. They're not looking over here, though. They look like they're busy talking to each other. I guess it's because of Yukari being in danger of failing. Why do I feel weird? It's like I'm a little upset that they don't give me attention. I shouldn't think like that! They know that I'm going to make it for sure, that's why they're not paying me attention. The bigger problem now is Yukari being in danger of failing! I should focus on doing my best in this test. Still… I can't help but keep glancing over at them. They seem to be perfectly fine without me… What am I thinking? Gaara and Yukari are not like that!

"On your marks, get set, go!"

The signal! I run as soon as sensei says go. Let's get this test over with as fast as possible. The sooner we finish the physical exam, the sooner I'll be able to be with Gaara and Yukari.

"That's a new record, Kiu! You made it in nine seconds! And you don't even seem that tired."

I smile at sensei, and look at Ikki who's almost here, too. Koji is right behind him. Mari is a little further behind. Ikki makes it in fourteen seconds, and Koji makes it in fifteen. Mari, on the other hand escapes being in danger of failing by making it in nineteen seconds.

I look over at Gaara and Yukari, and, this time, Gaara is looking back at me. I smile give him two thumbs up. He smiles back. Yukari also smiles at me, and claps. They seem proud of me. What was I thinking, believing for one second that they didn't care about me… I feel ashamed of ever thinking that. They're the best friends anyone could ever hope for.


	14. Second Test

"Alright everyone! The next test will be testing your reflexes. The rules are pretty simple, I will throw weapons at you, and you will do everything you can to try and avoid them, or stop them. Don't worry, these weapons are not sharpened enough to hurt you fatally, but you might get little scratches if you're not careful. This will be individual, therefore each one of you will be standing alone, facing me. If you get hit once or twice, you will be in danger of failing. If you get hit more than three times, you will automatically fail. Let's start with group 1, Tetsuya, you're up."

Hm… This doesn't sound too complicated. I could try to see if I can use that same technique that Yashamaru used. This will confirm that I really do absorb techniques from dead bodies.

"Alright, next is Group 2."

Most of group 1 passed it with a bit of difficulty. One of them was completely eliminated. She had to go straight home, since she also did pretty badly in the first test. Apparently there's a second chance to retake the test on another day.

"Gaara, you're up next."

Gaara will probably ace this. He just needs to stand still and the sand will protect him right away. It's like this test was made for him.

Gaara gets up, and looks at Yukari next to whom he was sitting. She smiles at him. I can't help but feel like I want to be that person who encourages him. At the same time, I'm glad he found someone who cares about him almost as much as I care about him.

Gaara then stands in front of sensei, and the test begins. Sure enough, everything that sensei throws at him is blocked by Gaara's sand. Needless to say, he passes without a single scratch.

"Hey, that's not fair, sensei!"

Some students start complaining about how it's a huge advantage for Gaara.

"This test is not a competition between you. Why do you care if for someone it is much easier than it is for you? I never said that you can only dodge it. You can use whatever means to avoid getting hit. That includes jutsu, special abilities, and Kekkei Genkai, if you have any of those. Now quit your complaining, and let's go on to the next student, Yukari."

After what sensei said, nobody said another word.

Now it's Yukari's turn! She's pretty agile, despite her appearance. I think she'll be able to pass this with flying colors.

Yukari gets ready, and takes her spot in front of sensei. He starts by throwing a few kunai knifes at her, which she dodges with amazing agility. A few people gasp in surprise. I bet they underestimated Yukari. She's much stronger than they think.

"She's… pretty good."

Ikki whispered to me.

"Yeah, she has really good reflexes."

I feel really proud of her, as her friend.

She passes the test without a single hit. She's still got a pretty good chance to pass, as long as she does just as well in the next test.

"So, Ikki, do you think you'll do well in this test?"

I'm a little curious to know just how good Ikki is. Because I'm pretty sure he's good.

"Hmm… To be honest… If I had some sort of stick… or something… that I could block… with…"

"You'd be able to block everything?"

Ikki pauses a bit, probably processing what I said, and nods slowly.

"I think sensei wouldn't mind as long as you bring it with you. I don't think he would lend you anything."

Ikki reaches out to his bag, and takes out a nunchaku.

"Oh! You know how to use these?"

"My dad… always emphasized… on good fighting skills… using weapons that… helped my Taijutsu…"

"That's so awesome!"

"Next, group six!"

Already us? We must've been really into our conversation that we didn't even notice that it was our turn.

"Koji, you're up."

"Show them what you've got, Koji baby!"

Mari squeals. Koji cringes a bit, but I think Mari didn't notice. To be honest, I cringed too… I don't know, but isn't she a bit too young to be calling him baby? Is it just me who thinks that? Oh well, it's really none of my business.

Koji manages to dodge most of the weapons, but gets two hits. One more and he would've automatically failed.

Mari goes next, and she also gets hit twice. She's always on the verge of failing, but she just manages to get through… It's like an annoying zit that just won't go.

"Ikki, you're up next!"

Sensei motions for Ikki to go and get into place. He places his nunchaku in front of him, holding it in a professional practiced manner.

Sensei starts throwing some shuriken at him. He blocks all of them with incredible speed. He does the same to all the other weapons that come flying at him. I didn't know he was that good! I'm really impressed.

After he's done, he comes back. I smile at him at clap.

"You were awesome out there!"

He blushes a little and gives me a sheepish smile.

"Kiu, get in position."

It's my turn now! I really want to know if I can use that jutsu that Yashamaru used. Maybe I can stop the weapons while they're flying at me, and control them.

As I get into place, sensei proceeds to throw a few weapons at me. The jutsu… Somehow I know what hand signs to make. My hands quickly do a bunch of hand signs, and I feel a surge of chakra flowing through me. Just as the weapons were about to hit me, they stop in their tracks. Everyone gasps. Even sensei looks a bit surprised. He then sends another array of weapons in my direction. This time, I use the weapons that are under my control to block off everything else that is coming at me. This is so much fun! It makes me want to learn more new jutsu. I feel… powerful.

My test ends without a single hit. So far, I am passing perfectly in this test. Even if I don't do so well in the next one, I'll still pass.

I get back next to Ikki.

"That… was crazy… cool…"

"Thanks, I didn't know if I could do it. It just… came to me."

The rest of the class goes through the test, and a few end up completely failing. I wonder what the next test is going to be…


	15. Final Test

"Alright class, this going to be your final test. I want to congratulate those of you who were able to get this far. I am a little disappointed, however, in those who were not able to succeed. You had all the proper training and education to help you pass these exams. If you failed it just means that you did not work hard enough! And that, is unacceptable as a ninja."

Man, sensei can be harsh... I kind of feel bad for the people who failed. I'm still glad that Gaara, Yukari, Ikki, and I made it to the last test. After that, we can actually start learning jutsu and how to use weapons! I can't wait to finally start with the interesting part.

"The final test will be a two vs two match."

What? We're going to have to fight each other? So like... how is it going to be evaluated? Does it mean that at leaf half of us are going to fail? No that doesn't make sense!

"You will be evaluated based on how well you act and react to your opponent. Even if one of you might be at a higher advantage, I will evaluate you on how you are trying to handle your situation."

That sounds better than I first thought. Alright, I think I'm actually really excited for this!

"Since a lot of groups now consist of less than four people, because of all those failed, I might put you in pairs with other groups that are missing members. As for the groups that have all four members, you will be paired within your group and go against the people in your group."

So basically, what I understood from what Sensei said is that I will be paired up with someone from my team and both of us will go against the other two of our team. I just hope I'm against Mari. I really want to show her just how much I'm more than capable of standing up against her. I just never did for her sake and because she isn't worth my effort.

The first group starts going ahead with the evaluation.

"Hey, Ikki..."

Ikki looks at me.

"I hope we're paired up together for this test."

He smiles and blushes a little I think. He nods and I understand that he also feels the same. Even though Koji is not a bad guy, he's the only one of the three of us who can cope with Mari. Even he doesn't seem to like her very much. It's weird though... why is he hanging out with her then?

Oh! It's Gaara and Yukari's turn! They were paired up together, that's good. They'll do great!

"Alright, both teams, in position."

Sensei instructs them and gives them the signal to start.

Gaara and Yukari look at each other with determined gazes. They then turn to their opponents who have already initiated an attack. Yukari gets behind Gaara, and Gaara blocks the attack with his sand. The two assailants fall back, confused as to what to do. While they're lost in their thoughts, Yukari emerges from behind Gaara's sand and kicks both of them, sending them flying in the air.

"Well, I guess that settles it then. Yukari and Gaara pass. As for Junichi and Aiko, you two made the mistake of losing your focus during a fight. If you had been more attentive, you might've been able to prevent Yukari from getting you both."

I knew they'd make it! I'm actually glad this time that I'm not on their team. I'd never want to go against either of them.

So this means that Gaara and Yukari both made it through the exams! Alright, now I'll make sure both Ikki and I make it.

The next few teams do the exams and most of them pass. Sensei said that it's alright to have weaknesses as long as they are overshadowed by your strengths.

"Kiu, Ikki, Mari, Koji, you guys are up next."

Since a lot of the groups are all mixed up,we don't have group numbers anymore.  
I hope I'm paired up with Ikki... Logically, it should be a guy-girl against another guy-girl team. For our group that is. So at least I'm pretty sure I won't be paired up with Mari. So that pain in the butt is out of the window.

"Kiu and Ikki, you'll be going against Koji and Mari."

Perfect! Everything is going so perfectly! This is great!

"So, Ikki, you're really good with a nunchaku. That'll be enough to take care of Koji. I'll be taking care of Mari in the meantime."

"…Sounds like a plan."

I look over to Mari and Koji. Mari seems overjoyed, and doesn't hide it. And she's throwing it all on Koji, probably telling him of the many ways she's planning to get rid of me. He, on the other hand, looks like he's living through a nightmare. Our gazes cross and he looks at me with pleading eyes, as if telling me to do something about Mari, and fast. Don't worry, I'll finish her off as fast as I can. The thing I really don't understand is how those two are a couple. Koji doesn't seem to have any feelings towards her at all. Well... it's not my place to judge I guess.

All four of us get in position. This is the final test... After that, we'all start the really cool ninja stuff like jutsu and weapons. I'll ace this and go celebrate with Gaara! Just Gaara. I feel like I want to just spend more time with him alone.

"Alright, ready? Begin!"

As soon as Sensei gave the signal, Ikki takes out his nunchaku. Mari runs straight at me and tries to throw a punch. I dodge, and get a hold of her arm in the process. I pull downwards, while trying to trip her with my foot. She, however, manages to break loose of my grip and does a front flip, getting away. Not bad. I look over at how Ikki and Koji are doing. Just then, I spot Ikki's nunchaku flying off. It seems like Koji kicked it out of Ikki's hands. Without another thought, I start making a bunch of hand signs. I just know that this jutsu will work. The jutsu that Yashamaru used... and just like I suspected it would, the nunchaku stops in mid-air. I hear a bunch of gasps and a few impressed mumblings. Alright time to do some damage. I direct the nunchaku at full speed towards Mari. Wait! No! That's too fast! Just then, Sensei comes in and blocks it. Good... I thought I was going to hurt Mari way too much.

"All four of you pass. Congratulations. Kiu, make sure you control yourself from inflicting too much damage on your classmates, it could be lethal."

"Sorry about that..."

Ikki comes up to me and pats me on the shoulder.

"You… did great."

I smile at him and then we both go, with me leading, join Gaara and Yukari. Ikki looks a bit hesitant, but it shows that he really does want to give Gaara a chance. I sit next to Gaara, who's looking at me with a big smile on his face. His gaze then turns to Ikki and that smile fades a bit.

"Oh, Gaara, Yukari, this is Ikki. He's a really nice guy. And Ikki, I think you know Gaara, and this is Yukari."

Yukari smiles shyly at him.

"Hello… Nice to meet you, Ikki."

Ikki looks a bit flustered but smiles to Yukari.

"Nice… to meet you… too."

At least those two are starting off on the right foot. I hope Gaara warms up to him soon. Right now, he seems really uncomfortable with Ikki being here. All four of us sit together until the end of the test.

During the whole time, Gaara didn't talk at all. I, on the other hand, talked way too much. I was excited to be with people who I can call friends. People who really do care about me. People with whom I feel comfortable. I really do hope we always stay together.


End file.
